High Homocysteine levels & Alzheimer's Risk

At the Boston University School of Medicine, researchers are now very confident to proclaim that high homocysteine levels are a high risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. This statement was made after much in-depth studies and experiments.

During one of the studies conducted, a large sampling group comprising 1,092 men and women with an average age of 76 years were examined. These people had no signs of dementia when they were first examined (as part of the Framingham Study) between the years of 1986 and 1990. After about eight years of follow-up, 111 people were reported to have developed dementia. Out of this group, 83 were diagnosed to have Alzheimer's disease.

On closer examination, the researchers found that people with a blood plasma homocysteine level of above 14 micromol/L had nearly twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease when compared with people who had lower levels. The researchers also concluded that a 5 micromol/L increase in homocysteine level corresponded to a 40 percent increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.